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22nd Mar
WOLVES MAKE
THE PLAY-OFFS
It all came down
to the last week, the last match, the last game ... would it be
Wolverhampton or Nottingham joining Manchester/Pontefract in the play-offs
...
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SHELLEY: GETTING STRONGER
 The
first game between world number three Natalie Grinham and world
number eleven Shelley Kitchen was the longest of the match, 16
minutes, and the closest. Shelley was hitting some great hard shots, and
Natalie kept on returning it all, placing as usual her precise crosscourts
and counterattacking beautifully with in particular some lethal redrops.
Natalie made a few unforced errors to start with, although the score was
still very close, 2/2, 4/4, 5/5. But the relentless pressure applied by
the mini champion started to take its toll on recovering the Shelley, who
started to play some unforced errors of her own, eventually conceding the
first game 9/5.
 In
the second, Natalie went to a great start very quickly, 4/0, and placing
delightful drop shots and redrops in both corners, she took the second in
10 minutes, 9/2. The third followed a similar pattern, Natalie up 3/0,
then Shelley catching up, 4/6, but again making a few unforced errors (two
out of court in particular) to give the third game to her opponent 9/4.
Still, a very good game, and a perfect start to the evening.
On the next
court, Mark Cairns had won his match 3/0, so we were one match all…
Shelley Kitchen lost to Natalie Grinham
5-9, 2-9, 4-9
Mark Cairns beat
Nick Douglas
9-1, 9-7, 9-0
 "He
played very well, but I was superb! No, joke apart, he started a bit
slowly, which was to be expected, due to the late call and all, so I
won the first game quite comfortably. I came back in the second
expecting to do exactly the same, but by that time, he had found his
game, and it came as a bit of a shock, as I had suddenly to play
very hard to win!
"Thankfully, in the third, he had lost his way, and I was able to
conclude easily."
Mark Cairns |
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 "Since
her injury, Shelley doesn’t move as well as she used to. As she hits
very hard, she relies a lot on her fitness.
"I can’t hit the ball as hard as she does, and I couldn’t keep the
pace she imposes, so I’m always trying to mix pace, to mix shots,
I’m trying to be not predictable, and in Shelley’s case, to prevent
her to have the time to hit the ball.
"Because if she’s got the time to prepare or if you give her an open
ball, she can hit a winner…"
Natalie Grinham |
 "I
didn’t feel that confident, but I can feel that I’m getting
stronger. I think that I just need to get back in the game and play
some tournaments, and I’ll be OK.
"Natalie is so hard to play, the balls keep coming back to you all
the time. And I made a few mistakes. When you play Natalie, you’ve
got to be able to slow the ball down, and maybe I wasn’t patient
enough today. But all the same, I enjoyed playing her, it was a good
game…"
Shelley Kitchen |
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WARMING UP, BABY,
WARMING UP…
By the time Alex Gough, former world number five, world number 25
at the moment, and Sir Simon Parke, former world number three, now
number 22, entered, the crowd was warm at will. “Come on Alex”, “Come on
Simon”, were supporting both players, and the first point scored by Alex
was saluted by a loud cheer.
This was going to be a looooong match…
 First
of all, it was obvious to all that these two knew each other’s game inside
out, and that secondly, they were very good friends, you could feel the
friendship and respect between the players, which added to the drama.
“Those two are the best retrievers in the game,” said somebody behind me,
and you know what, I think he was right. What a game, what a show…
The first game was Alex’s. Planted on the T, he was distributing the shots
like Father Christmas, a little bit for everybody. As usual, Sir Simon was
retrieving everything, slowing down the rallies, making his opponent play
the ball as much as possible. At 6/7, he could have equalised if only Alex
hadn’t placed a sumptuous forehand volley kill nick… The shot gave the
Welshman his first game ball, saved by the former England Captain thanks
to a forehand low drive nick. Alex won the next point, taking the first
game 9/7 in 15 minutes.
 That
game took nearly all that Goughie had in the tank, and from that moment
on, Simon was in front, and Alex was retrieving and counterattacking,
searching for his breath after each point. But he dug in, again and again.
He sort of let go of the second, 9/4 in 10 minutes, and came back in the
third, leading 4/2. Parkie was too precise today, good volley drop shots,
perfect width (cross court and lob cross court in particular). He
equalised 5/5 and eventually won the game 9/6 in 16 long minutes.
The fighting Welshman couldn’t do anything other than admit defeat, having
run out of every ounce of energy contained in his body.
And as on the next court, Scott Handley had eventually taken his
match in five games and 59 minutes, we were now 2 games all…
Alex Gough lost to Simon Parke
9-7, 4-9, 6-9, 2-9 |
 "Alex
has been playing very well recently. Yesterday he beat John, and I
knew he was tired. In the first game, he was able to direct the
rallies and attack from the front of the court, but after that, I
stepped in front of him and I was in control, for a change. He did
it to me many times, I got my revenge today!
"Now, for tonight’s result, I gutted. I’m really disappointed, and
when I saw Greg stepping in at 8.30… But it was a very difficult
decision that Bob and I had to take. We thought that the risk was
too great.
"I thought I would be disappointed if we were to lose, but I’m
more than disappointed, I’m shattered. And what a finish, on the
last game of the last match. But all credit to Anthony, he played
beautifully well. I was hoping that he would lose his
concentration after the fourth, but he didn’t, unfortunately…"
Simon Parke |
 "I’m
absolutely shattered! Yesterday, I beat Whitey, (John White…) in
the Super League and it killed me. If it hadn’t been such an
important game today, I wouldn’t have stepped on a court today,
but this match was so crucial for the team…
"The last two times we played, I beat him, so it’s rather annoying
that he beat me this time… But he could feel I was tired, he could
see that I was not behind him today, and he rightly took advantage
of it. After the first game, I was exhausted, but I kept digging
in…"
Alex Gough |
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Scott Handley beat David Evans
10-8, 6-9, 9-0, 3-9, 9-6
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 "It
was a great game. It was quite bouncy and warm on the court. In the
fifth, the score was so close, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, and suddenly, I hit a
couple of bad shots, he hit a couple of good shots, and it was the
end of the match…
"Scott is a real attacker, he’s got some good kills, and he can hit
some pretty good winners, and because of my height, I don’t like to
bend too much… But on the other hand, he also made a few mistakes
playing those shots as well…
"If I could play the match all over again, I would try and get a
better start in each game, as I was behind every time, and had to
catch up, which is bad, especially with this scoring."
David Evans |
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 "We
had a couple of hard rallies at the end. And I thought, if I can
keep close score wise, keep it to the back and at a high pace,
hitting hard, I could win. I was lucky, as he played two bad shots
that I was able to put away, that gave me the lead 7/5.
"David is so dangerous, you think you’ve cracked his game, that
you are on top of him, and suddenly, he is back and wins the game
so easily. For example, I win the 3rd 9/0, and I lose the 4th 9/3.
So if you ever want to beat David, you’ve got to be as patient as
you can, and try to weather the storm…"
Scott Handley |
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NO PRESSURE AT ALL…
“The winner takes it all”, said Stephen to introduce the game. “It
couldn’t be more simple. Whoever wins this game goes to the semis… So, no
pressure at all on either Anthony Ricketts or John White,
they just play a perfectly normal game…”
The crowd was erupting in loud and passionate “Come on Anthony”, “Come on
John”, we even had a spectator that was shouting “Come on John White”, as
if a confusion was possible…
 Very
quickly, the match became the spitting image of the final of the Canary
Wharf Classic that was played between the same two players last Friday,
where John was down 2/0 before winning the match against all odds.
Rematch, remake, or vengeance…
Today, like on that day, John was down 2/0, and seemed down and out for
the count. But once again, the Tall Man was able to come back and equalise
2/2: he reduced the number of his unforced errors, made a few amazing
retrievals, ran a few marathons, placed some stunning winners, enough to
destabilise Anthony and make him doubt.
So, a whole season, reduced to a single match, and now to a single game.
It has to be said that, as between Alex and Simon in the previous match,
the atmosphere between the players was as friendly as the circumstances
allowed it.
But this time, Anthony didn’t lose his head in the fifth, he kept his
cool, and took a comfortable lead 4/1, helped by a few tins from White.
From that point, the ToC Champion was unstoppable, and to the great
delight of the Wolverhampton crowd, Anthony won the game, the match, and
gave an unexpected victory to the club which has been waiting a long time
for the honour of playing the semis…
Anthony Ricketts beat John White
9-4, 9-6, 5-9, 4-9, 9-2
 "It's
a great victory for us today. And what a finish, all depending on
the last game of the last match, so much drama! Getting into the
semis means a lot to us, we nearly got there in our first year in
the League, but never since.
"I think that everybody enjoyed the evening very much, and I'm also
glad for all the sponsors that have been supporting us, and helping
us over the years..."
Stephen Russell |
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 "John
played again some good squash, and in the fifth, I really had to
pump myself up. I think that if I didn’t motivate myself a lot in
the last game, he would have walked all over me. I had to lift my
intensity a lot, for the team, it was so important, so crucial.
That victory was so important to the club, the members, but also
to the players, and of course to the sponsors.
"In squash, the Sponsors have got a passion for the game … and I’m
so glad tonight that we won, for everybody here…"
Anthony Ricketts |
 "I
shouldn't let things get to me, I should be able to play my best
no matter what. It’s true that last night against Alex was a very
hard game, and we finished late, we had to stay in a hotel. But
still…
"It’s so frustrating, I played well all of last week, but today, I
let him get a good start in the fifth, whereas in the third and
the fourth, I had a good start. At two-all, I thought I could do
it again, but unfortunately, I made a few unforced errors at the
beginning of the fifth, and once he gets the lead, once he gets
confident, he goes 200 mph.
It’s even more frustrating because it’s a team loss, not an
individual one. We played well all year, we put a lot of efforts
into it, all of us, and now, we are going to have to wait for
another year. It’s different you know, when you have the team
members sitting on the bench, you put more effort into it, because
it’s not just for you, it's for everybody. It makes it even more
frustrating when you lose…"
John White |
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CLUB HISTORY
Wolves
EN BREF |
Wolverhampton 3-2 Norwest Holst Nottingham
Anthony Ricketts beat John White
9-4, 9-6, 5-9, 4-9, 9-2
Alex Gough lost to Simon Parke
9-7, 4-9, 6-9, 2-9
Scott Handley beat David Evans
10-8, 6-9, 9-0, 3-9, 9-6
Mark Cairns beat Nick Douglas
9-1, 9-7, 9-0
Shelley Kitchen lost to Natalie Grinham 5-9, 2-9, 4-9
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